Doctor Who superfans have welcomed the casting of Broadchurch actress Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor.

Writer and avid fan Jenny Colgan - who has written several Doctor Who novels and audio dramas - said she was "absolutely delighted" that Whittaker is the new Doctor, describing her as "brilliant and bold and brave".

She said: "When I was a little girl I thought I was the only female Doctor Who fan in the world. Now Jodie Whittaker is taking it to a whole new place, and I am absolutely delighted for all of us wee Whoviennes, old and new."

Asked what she would say to anyone unhappy that the new Doctor is a woman, she said: "People are always unhappy when there's a new Doctor, that's just the way of it.

"Then new stuff happens and it's brilliant and everyone loves them and they have to leave and then everyone gets sad again.

"If you really would stop watching Doctor Who because it was a woman, I don't think you really understand the entire ethos the last 55 years of The Doctor has been about."

Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who (Image: BBC/Colin Hutton)

Here's 9 things you might not know about the 13th Time Lord:

1) Adept at performing as a wide-ranging number of characters, the 35-year-old has portrayed Anne Hathaway’s best friend in One Day, an abused lover in the time-travel film Harmony and as Rupert Everett’s dappy blonde secretary in both St Trinian’s films.

2) Born in June 1982 in Huddersfield, Whittaker dreamed of becoming an actress as a teenager. After leaving school at 16, she completed a Btec in performing arts before attending Guildhall School of Music and Drama – where she was joined by Hayley Atwell and Michelle Dockery.

3) She also met her husband, American actor Christian Contreras, at Guildhall. They married in 2008 and welcomed their first child in 2015.

Jodie Whittaker in Broadchurch (Image: ITV)

4) A keen footballer and squash player as a youngster, Whittaker is a huge cricket fan and her father was formerly president of Huddersfield Cricket League.

5) She left drama school in 2005 for a part in Storm at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, and subsequently won her first film role in Venus (2006) alongside Peter O’Toole.

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6) She has fought aliens before - playing a nurse originally mugged by John Boyega on a tough council estate in London, before they team up to fight an alien invasion in the 2011 film Attack the Block.

7) She appeared in St Trinian’s with close friend Gemma Arterton and in Good alongside Lord Of The Rings star Viggo Mortensen before landing the role of Beth Latimer in Broadchurch, much of which was filmed in Clevedon and Bristol's Bottleyard Studios.

Jodie Whittaker (Image: PA)

8) Not one to flaunt her fame, Whittaker has previously spoken of her happiness of having a “chameleon face” as it means she is rarely recognised in the street. However, after taking on one of TV’s biggest roles, the 13th incarnation of the Time Lord should be prepared for that all to change.

9) The actress has most recently finished shooting Paddy Considine’s Journeyman, as well as new BBC drama series Trust Me.